A/N: As usual, thank you so much for reading! I'm so happy everyone is liking the innocence of Troy and Gabriella's friendship. I've never written it like this before, so it's definitely a change. I'm glad people are taking to it! Anyways, thanks again a million times over for the people who are reviewing, along with the reading. So, not much else to say but thank you again! You guys are incredible!


"You all say the nicest things. You're so great, you're so nice, but none of you want to date me! So you wanna help me, Tommy? Tell me what I do wrong. Tell me why I'm so easy to give up, and maybe I can fix it!"

"You're asking the wrong guy."

Jude Harrison and Tommy Quincy, Instant Star


"I'm gonna miss you coming over to fix this." Gabriella proclaimed as she gently placed down the aluminum can of Mountain Dew next to the rough curves of the round tires. She heard the clank of something beneath as the large hand dropped a filthy metal tool before lifting his thin head up to reveal the greased stained smiling face.

"What… you think after I get done with this today then I'm just gonna disappear?" Eric mused with his creamy eyes sparkling when they landed on her. Gabriella smiled softly before turning away towards the inside of the dark gray walls that was her garage.

The new fuel pump had come in the previous week, longer than what had been anticipated. With football controlling most of his life, Eric had only been able to come two other times to work on the truck, plus the two had spent a lot of that time bonding instead of actually working. It would have been a complete lie to say that Gabriella didn't enjoy his company a lot. She had never really had a guy friend she could relate to, talk to even.

The only problem was that somewhere deep in her gut, the fading line between friendship and romance was growing ever the more strongly. With Gabriella? The line was completely defined.

Gabriella shrugged her thin shoulders before leaning up against the old truck causally in her jeans and simple fuchsia t-shirt. The garage was warm; especially with the bright light that shown down on the mending car. Eric's white t-shirt was now spotted like a Dalmatian with grease. His face was splattered with oil and he looked like he had just rolled around in it instead of worked in the car. Not that the operation itself was that dirty, but it seemed he had gotten carried away and just started to pick at all the other parts of the truck as well. "No… but you can't just come over anymore."

"And why not?" He questioned, inclosing the gap between them while swiping the battered towel that was draped over the open hood to wipe his messy hands with. It seemed to be break time in Eric's mind, not that she minded either.

"Because you don't have the truck to work on!" Gabriella exclaimed as though the answer to that was obvious. Eric chuckled his throaty laugh before throwing the disgusting towel in her direction, causing her to jump back and stubble to catch her footing by gripping the edge of the bed of the white truck violently.

"So? Hate to break it too you sweetheart… but I'm not going anywhere any time soon." That brought a slightly shy smile to Gabriella's face, before she looked away towards the knickknacks her father had collected in the time that she wasn't present.

Eric was sweet, and she loved being around him. But every time she was with him, she noted how well of an older brother he would be. Someone she could just stay up all night and talk to. While the other captain that was in her life right now… she would want to do other things with him all night that would most definitely involve their lips. God, why did she think about him so much? He was just one person!

But that was the thing. He seemed to be the one person who she would pick out of a zillion.

"Well… I like your company." She confessed before sliding down the smooth surface of the truck to the ground. Eric strode to her and sat down beside her, staring at her as though he was looking at the world. It made her feel uncomfortable, yet she didn't want him to leave. Was that messed up?

"Good… cuz I love yours," he beamed happily before Gabriella let her eyes drop to the floor again. Silence enclosed them, though it was not awkward. It seemed that nothing between them would ever be awkward in her eyes. That's what made him so comfortable to be around. They didn't have to say anything to be satisfied. "You're going to the bonfire, right?"

Gabriella's mocha eyes rolled obnoxiously before they turned back to the black hair that stuck up from his head. "For the twenty thousandth time. Yes. I'm going. How many times are you going to ask me that question?"

Eric chuckled lightly. "Are you going to the bonfire?"

Gabriella's tiny had smacked the back of his head. "You're an idiot."

"You'll get over it." He replied after a light shrug.

"Why do you want me to go so bad anyways?" Gabriella slowly asked. She watched the twinkle once again appear in his chocolate eye. Everything about him was so warm, just the way his steamy skin brushed against her bare arm. It would have kept her toasty on the most frigid night.

"I don't know… you never know what could happen," his sly voice mused before his right eye came down to a wink. Suddenly, Gabriella felt incredibly unnerved by the events that might be unfolding Saturday night. What did he mean by that anyways? It caused her fear, but what caused her to be even more frightened was the fact that a millisecond after he said it, the first flash of an image that rushed through her brain was a picture of the dazzling bronze smile and cerulean eyes she couldn't get enough of. "But I should get going on this… or I'm never gonna finish."

Gabriella gave him a warm smile as he slowly stood up. "And that would be bad?"

He flashed another bright smirk. "If it meant being with you… never bad."


There he stood, off in the distance like some perfect statue.

Gabriella's breath was uneven as she panted heavily, just like every time she saw him in her dreams. It was always the same, about two nights a week. Always the same dream that was stripped back into a time she was unfamiliar with …

Her cream colored dress flowed in the gentle breeze as she strode out into the night. The midnight hair was pulled elegantly back; though half of the waves danced down her open back. The night was lucid while the white stars twinkled from the heavens above. The gaze written in the brown orbs was intent as she stared at the dark figure by the lake some hundred yards away. Too far for her liking.

Delicately, Gabriella kicked off her large heels to feel the soft tickle of the grass beneath her. The silhouette of his body was so inviting that she couldn't contain her thin legs from hurrying quickly. Thank God that in this time period, it seemed that she was a lot more nimble on her feet than in her future life. She quickly ran to the outline, but halted four feet away from him to see his relaxed back. The outfit he was wearing could have come out of a fairytale, with his hair pushed up in the front in a windswept tangled sort of way.

Maybe it was because in this dream, it was her fairytale.

"I've been waiting forever for someone like you…" Troy's velvet voice whispered as she timidly came around to his side, meeting his gaze into the lake that reflected the moon above her.

She was counting the seconds that she couldn't breathe, but found herself loosing count quickly as his flawless face turned to her, his sparkling blue eyes glistening with longing that Gabriella mirrored in her own dark orbs. Tenderly, his frozen hand enclosed her tiny one before his lips crossed the crooked smile she loved so much.

"Why?" Gabriella questioned, feeling the familiar trembles she did whenever he was around. "I'm nobody."

Troy shook his perfectly formed head before leaning down, taking in the full scent of her. Gabriella inhaled his intoxicating fumes, her body trembling beneath around his. Slowly and gently, his muscular arms enclosed her, before tenderly bringing her to the ground so her bare back was against the grass. He hovered over her so expertly that it was almost like he wasn't touching her.

"You're everything to me." Troy lips grazed the smooth skin of her neck before he placed his incredible lips against the baby soft texture. Gabriella felt every nerve in her body erupt in pleasure.

Then his loving hand gingerly brushed the curl that fell over her olive face before he gently leaned in to press his soft lips against hers…

"Troy…" Gabriella moaned before her liquid topaz eyes snapped open. Her chest heaved up an down in anticipation, before she realized that there was nothing to anticipate. All she was looking at was the black ceiling that showed no signs of the basketball captain coming out of.

She loved the dream, but hated it at the same time. Never did she actually get to kiss him. Her mind wouldn't let her. Gabriella's dark eyes closed in the night of her room before snuggling into a little ball beneath her warm covers, imagining that Troy was there holding her tightly. Telling her he had been waiting forever for her.

Gabriella sighed sadly before kicking off her covers, knowing that there would be absolutely no way she'd be able to get back to sleep. She tiptoed towards her balcony, careful not to make any creaking noises just in case Jose might not be in a deep slumber. The last thing she wanted was for her father to believe she was sneaking out. Not that she ever would. At least, she didn't think she ever would.

Before making it to the door, however, she glanced over to see a light illuminated through the darkness over by her computer. Her dark eyebrows narrowed curiously, before she gently reached for the lit up phone. "NEW TXT MESSAGE". It was three in the morning on a Saturday… who had just texted her?

Slowly, she slid the black sleek screen before her clumsy fingers completely lost grasp on the object. It crashed to the floor with a "thud", Gabriella cringed through her shock, and freezing before she was satisfied she heard a rumbling snore from the other room. Her eyes dared to look down and see the four single letters that sounded out her new favorite name on the screen.

TROY

"Oh my god…" Gabriella murmured before taking large inhales of breath. Why did he just text her at three in the morning? Was she dreaming? She must be dreaming! But normally the dreams that had to do with Troy were set sometime in the past where she felt like Juliet, and he was her Romeo. Now this seemed all too ordinary to be a dream. Well… minus the fact that Troy Bolton was texting her in the middle of the night. Well… it was approaching morning, but still…

R u going to the bonfire 2nite?

Gabriella had to remember to inhale oxygen again. He wasn't even here and he was making her palms sweat! The inside air was not good enough, so she crept over to the large glass windows before silently pushing the balcony door open and feeling a rush of the cool night graze over her tender skin. She then briskly walked towards the end of the balcony, looking out into the thick vegetation before once again trying to fill her lungs in this dream like sequence. Why was he texting her so late? It wasn't normal, and he most definitely should have been sleeping. But she finally remembered how to work her fingers as she turned around and slid down the side of the railing so she was now sitting on the cool surface.

Yes

Maybe this was joke. Maybe he was just trying to mess with her or make fun of her. One, he had never contacted her out side of school… ever. He only received her phone number when a girl in Human Anatomy asked for it, so Troy seemed to jump at the chance to add another name into his phonebook. He had been too nice so far, too sweet. Too…

The object in her hand vibrated again.

Her cascading hair was pulled into a messy ponytail and the gentle breeze tickled the tiny hairs on her arms beneath the simple baby blue cami she was wearing and black flannel pajama pants. Nerves jiggled in her flat stomach and her petite hand shook as she slowly slid the phone open again. Once again, his name came up with the picture of an envelope before she pressed SEND to open the message.

Fuck I didn't mean to wake u up! Sorry

Gabriella's cheeks immediately flushed red, but her small smile exploded into a beam. She assumed he just meant for her to look at it when she woke up in the morning, and didn't expect her to text back. It seemed like fate was working with her to wake her up that evening. Okay… she was getting ahead of herself. They were just texts, there was nothing to do with fate… at all.

You didn't. Couldn't sleep

Almost immediately after she shut her phone and pressed her round head against the back of the railing, it went off again. Gabriella wasted no time to open it and reflexively twirled a piece of her black hair around her slender finger.

Me neither

Before she could reply anything else, her phone exploded into a tremble of life. She expected to see another envelope on the screen, but this time it was different… This time just his name showed up and the vibrates weren't coming in short spasms. They were in long drawn shakes. Her shining eyes once again fearfully widened. What should she do? Was this really happening? She had to have been sleeping, there was no other explanation for this bizarre behavior of her phone. Maybe it was broken.

Or maybe she should just accept the fact he was calling her and answer the damn phone.

"He…hello?" She stuttered before reaching up to brush a curl out of her face. Maybe he was just going to hang up on her right now. It made more sense than what he was actually doing.

"So why can't you sleep?" His gentle voice asked that almost caused Gabriella to push backwards so hard the balcony fence would break off. This was every girl's fantasy, talking to the boy of their dreams at three in the morning. Why was this happening to Gabriella? None of this made sense at all, but if it meant talking to Troy Bolton, she'd much rather live in a dream than in actual reality.

"I um…" Gabriella hesitated. She could lie and say something like an animal woke her up, but even through the phone, she found that his voice was so hypnotic he could get her to do anything. Even tell embarrassing baby stories. "I just have a lot of my mind."

"Like what?" Troy questioned, Gabriella doing her best not to imagine his shirtless body sitting in some grand satin bed. She scolded herself for seeing him that way.

"I don't know…" she mumbled. "A dream I guess."

Troy chuckled softly on the other line. She could almost see the crevices of his face as his perfect features laughed. The coffee colored eyes looked up to the twinkling stars and painted his picture in the sky. Even the thousands of firing balls above were nothing compared to the beauty of his cyan orbs. "You want me to play Dr. Bolton and you can explain it to me?" With that her pulse quickened and she was now certain she was going to die of embarrassment.

"Ummm… you're not a psychologist." Gabriella tired to come up with excuses to avoid the mortifying experience.

"I've been around Jack's hospital enough. I've seen them." He causally stated, Gabriella's dusky eyebrows narrowing curiously.

"Who's Jack?" She asked, not meaning to be rude.

The soft laugh rung from the other side of the conversation. "Oh… Jack and Lucille are my adoptive parents." It took her aback how easily he gave up this information. Or maybe the past couple days he had been waiting for the chance to give the fact up so easily. Maybe he wanted her to know desperately and this was his chance to say something about it.

Her heart sank at the memory of Eric telling her he was adopted. She suddenly felt guilty for asking the question that was probably hurting him. Never had she met someone so composed who didn't even have their real parents present. "Oh… gosh… I'm so sorry…"

"Gabi… don't worry about it okay?" Troy comforted her as though she was the one in pain. She was extremely thankful that he was so okay with this; otherwise she was certain that the conversation would have ended at that moment. "It sucks… but they're as good as my real parents. You don't need to feel sorry… cuz I'm not."

She was shocked that they were going into so much detail about his life… on the phone in the middle of the night. But then again, they were usually around so many other people that it never was able to come out before. This was just… intimate and nice. She could get used to it. Very quickly. So quickly it scared her. Being around Troy was so intoxicating that it frightened her how much she craved him. Like he was… he was… an addiction or something. "Oh…" Gabriella mumbled softly before Troy's bright voice flooded her ears again.

"So tell me about your dream…" He pressed curiously, he like was trying to find everything he could about her.

"Oh… um… I don't know… you don't want to hear it." Gabriella's slender finger traced a line on the balcony while a jade leaf floated down from the heavens above and rested on her shoulder.

"Now that you're hiding it… I sure as hell do…" She could almost imagine what his sparkling smile looked like, for she could hear the eager humor in his voice.

Quickly, her intelligent mind spun around so that maybe she would have a chance to escape this question. She didn't want Troy to know about her dreams about him! That would just be… horrible. And she knew that lying would be out of the question, for he would be able to catch her so well. He was so good at reading people, it was almost scary. "If um…" her tiny voice squeaked nervously. "If I tell you mine, you have to tell me yours."

There was silence from the other side of the phone before she heard a depressed sigh. "You suck Montez."

A sudden breath of relief left her throat as she pressed the back of her head harder against the light fence. But it suddenly scared her as well. Was he angry? He had to be. He just said she sucked, didn't he? "I'm sorry… I just…"

"Gabriella… calm down okay? I'm just kidding," Troy's soothing voice immediately leveled her pulse. "What are you so afraid of?"

Gabriella bit her bottom lip tenderly. "What do you mean?" She questioned, suddenly feeling a yawn tickle the edges of her throat. She let it show through before gently closing her eyes, sleep overcoming her once again. But she wanted to fight to stay awake, fight to stay conscious with Troy.

"You just… you think other people don't accept you … Gabi… everyone loves you… you're just…" Troy's voice trailed and her heart skipped five thousand beats. Her eyes opened swiftly. Just being this late was probably making him say things he wouldn't normally when he was fully conscious. "You're incredible."

Gabriella's voice was ripped from her throat and thrown over the edge of the balcony. Her hands were vibrating so violently she was certain they would fly off and hit the edge of the house. She had no idea why, but a tiny tear of happiness burned in her left eye. Did he just say that? This MUST have been a dream. It had to have been. "I… um… thank you…" She whispered, just incase he would suddenly change his mind.

The masterpiece of Troy's stunning smile filled her sight again before she felt a chill of wind run down her spine. Or maybe it was just her pretending he was touching her. "Look… I'll let you sleep again…"

No. She wanted to stay up with him all night. "You don't…"

"Nah… I've kept you late enough… sleep okay?" His narcotic voice caressed the edges of her ears and the only thing she could possibly do was nod.

"Okay." She responded in a trance-like state.

"I'll just see yah tonight alright?" Troy closed before she saw a flash of his beautiful orbs again. "Sleep well."

A sudden roll of confidence rippled through her tiny body. She had the urge to do something of the impossible. Something she had never in a million years imagined she would do, but she had to. Or she would never know what would have happened if she didn't say anything. "Troy?" Her shy voice stopped before he could hang up.

"Hmmm?" He began to sound exhausted, so she wanted to make this last.

"I think you're pretty incredible too."